Chapter 1293: Xiong Qianbei
Li Qiye interrupted him and dismissively said: "People from the Xiong Clan have never been disciples of the Regal Valley. Don't play tricks in front of me."
The overlord was taken aback after hearing this while the old man echoed: "Young Noble, you are right, I've never been their valley's disciple, he is trying to frame me."
The overlord's expression turned a bit ugly, but he quickly restored his smile: "Young Noble Li, your words are a bit too arbitrary…"
"I've always been an arbitrary person." Li Qiye interrupted him and flatly asserted: "This person is now under my protection, leave."
The overlord's expression dimmed as a fierce flash streaked across his eyes, but he still maintained his friendly demeanor: "I have always respected the heroes of all races, and the same goes for your prestige. If Young Noble Li and the schoolmasters wish to protect this traitor, then I will give you some face and no longer pursue this matter."
This reply was quite generous and sensible. Anyone else would feel their days brighten up. To be given such respect was a kind of honor.
However, Li Qiye was still as cold as before. From start to finish, he didn't even give the overlord a single glance.
Nevertheless, the overlord didn't become angry. He bid his farewell with a smile: "Young Noble Li, Schoolmasters, this is goodbye for now. However, with the world as small as it is, I hope that everyone will come visit my Regal Valley one day. I will surely show you my greatest hospitality."
"Valley Lord, you are too polite." Ruyan and Jianshi were still courteous. As lords of their sects, they naturally had to act gracefully.
Li Qiye, on the other hand, was completely indifferent. His attitude would make others think that he was overbearingly arrogant.
The overlord smiled and left in a cool manner.
Ruyan chuckled after he left: "Young Noble, you are now on that guy's list, and he will never let go of his prey. He's a brute famous for wanting to hunt people stronger than him. You are the rising rookie of the human race, and since you have opposed him, you are now the prime candidate on his list."
"Then let him come and die." Li Qiye simply didn't give a damn about the overlord's pretentious and friendly act.
He had seen countless people ranging from Immortal Emperors to nobodies. What kind of character had he not met? How could the overlord's little play elude his eyes?
The old man felt that he found a path to survival after hearing Li Qiye's nonchalant and confidence-filled statement. He quickly prostrated on the ground to say: "Young Noble, thank you for saving my life. This lowly one will never forget your kindness."
"Thank you, Schoolmasters, for being on the side of righteousness." He bowed to the two girls as well.
Ruyan responded with a faint smile: "You sure know how to talk, putting the hat of being your saviors on our head. It looks like it will be difficult for us not to save you."
The old man coughed, but he still shamelessly bowed before them. 1
Li Qiye looked at the old man and asked: "What is your name?"
He quickly answered: "Young Noble, this lowly one's name is Qianbei, a disciple of the Xiong Clan."
Li Qiye lightly spoke: "The Xiong has fallen, they do not exist in the Heaven Spirit World any longer."
Xiong Qianbei felt dejected after hearing this and replied with sorrow: "You are right, this little one is only a wandering ghost."
Li Qiye's attention was on the wooden coffin on the old man's back. He lowered his tone: "Where did you get this coffin from?"
Both the girls became curious as well. Ever since the old man got here, Li Qiye's eyes rarely left the coffin. They were curious about what the contents of the coffin could be to attract someone like Li Qiye who was indifferent to everything.
Qianbei was alarmed. He gripped the coffin even tighter while stumbling backward.
"Ah, Young Noble, these are the remains of my ancestor. I'm looking for a place to bury them." He smiled wryly in response.
Li Qiye responded in a cold tone: "Old man, don't play in front of me. Lying in my presence is a very unwise move. I can save you from the Lithodidae Overlord, but I can also smash you to pieces!"
"I don't care about your life or whether you are human or a sea demon. Your background is of no interest to me either. I did it for the wooden coffin on your back." Li Qiye's eyes turned extremely cold: "If you can understand this, then do not lie in front of me or else you will come to understand what true horror is."
Although Li Qiye didn't emit a scary aura or a suppressive momentum, when his eyes turned cold, Qianbei couldn't help but quiver. He felt chills all over his body while his legs grew weak.
Even masters like the two girls felt chills. A terrifying light flashed across his eyes, a glint capable of annihilating all things.
This was not an empty threat.
Qianbei struggled to calm down, but he managed to speak: "Young Noble, I, I picked up this coffin by chance. Several days ago when the black star was crossing the sky, I was at sea to find some clams for pearls and this coffin suddenly emerged from the sea."
Li Qiye batted his eyes after hearing this. He tried to confirm: "Was there a strange phenomenon such as a chasm splitting open the seabed?"
"How did you know?" Qianbei was surprised. He didn't hide it any longer: "That was indeed the case, the seabed suddenly split to form a deep trench when the dark star flew by, just like the Bottomless Trench in the Jade Sea. This coffin appeared and countless green branches pulled it out from the bottom. I was lucky enough to pick it up then…"
"… By the time I recomposed myself, the trench had disappeared. I didn't really understand what the coffin was before meeting the overlord. He had been pursuing me all this way while I ran for dear life. Luckily Young Noble was here to save me." He coughed at this point.
Li Qiye only listened to the first half while not caring about the second half of the story. His eyes fell upon the coffin once more.
Ruyan curiously asked Qianbei: "What is in the coffin?"
Qianbei honestly answered: "I don't know either. I couldn't open this coffin no matter what I tried."
"These runes are very old, you won't find any of them in this day and age." Jianshi took a careful look at these indecipherable runes.
Keep in mind that these two came from the Void Imperfection Three Schools, an ancient lineage. As schoolmasters, they were quite knowledgeable compared to ordinary people. Nevertheless, they were completely unable to understand the meaning of these runes.
Li Qiye eventually told Qianbei: "I want this wooden coffin."
Qianbei's expression sank as he took several steps back. He was clearly very reluctant to accept this demand.
"Ah, Young Noble, well… about that…" Qianbei wryly smiled: "I, I need it to make a fortune!"
Ruyan chuckled in response: "You want to get rich from this? Don't forget who saved your life. Can you try to become rich when you are dead?"
Qianbei became embarrassed after hearing this. He stood there awkwardly with a forced smile, not knowing what to do.
Li Qiye leisurely said: "If I take action, regardless of how strong you are or what aces you have hidden, you will still lose the coffin."
Qianbei's expression drastically changed again while he stumbled back even more, distancing himself further from Li Qiye. He awkwardly smiled: "This lowly one knows that you won't rob me. I am indeed very grateful since you saved my life. It is, it is just that I have some predicaments, I hope you can understand."
"I only saved your life because it was a convenient way to get this wooden coffin. Don't worry about that, I won't blackmail you just because of this favor." Li Qiye waved his sleeve dismissively.
"I am ashamed before your noble bearing. If I can offer my service to you another day, I will do everything possible." Qianbei relaxed after hearing this and quickly bowed again.
"What do you want?" Li Qiye coldly looked at him and asked: "What kinds of things will make you willingly hand over this coffin?"
This question left Qianbei pondering. He looked at Li Qiye then the two girls while trying to find the right words.
If you accept the gesture, you have the responsibility to protect him because of face. ↩Chapter 1294: Wooden Coffin
"Speak, there are few items in this world that I can't afford." Li Qiye slowly said: "Of course, you need to act sensibly. Don't push it and lose the opportunity."
Both Liu Ruyan and Zhuo Jianshi were very curious after seeing how much Li Qiye valued the coffin. What the hell was in this coffin?
Xiong Qianbei hesitated for a bit before biting his teeth and making up his mind: "I do not dare to be greedy after being shown such kindness by Young Noble. I, I want a piece of land."
The two girls were surprised by this request. They both assumed Qianbei would want some treasures, elixirs or supreme merit laws, not a landmass.
"Do you know how precious a piece of land in Heaven Spirit is?" Jianshi shook her head. This was a world where land was more precious than anything else.
Qianbei replied: "This lowly one knows that. I won't push my luck, I will be satisfied with a landmass around one hundred square miles."
"You're not pushing your luck by asking for a piece of land the size of one hundred square miles?" Ruyan couldn't help but laugh while shaking her head: "Do you know how valuable this much land is in Heaven Spirit?"
Of course, a one hundred square mile piece of land was nothing in the other worlds. Even the minor branches of sects in those places would be much bigger. An ordinary disciple would be in charge of a territory of this size. However, land was too scarce in the Heaven Spirit World. This little piece of earth became especially precious here.
"A lot of second and third tier sects only have islands this big." Jianshi gently shook her head.
"This old one knows." Qianbei coughed in response: "However, this is a wooden coffin that incited a heavenly phenomenon. A meteor in the sky and a trench at the bottom of the sea — such a phenomenon is quite rare in this world. I believe this coffin is absolutely extraordinary, so I don't think trading it for a one hundred square mile landmass is unreasonable."
Ruyan grinned and said: "Even if it is worth the trade, you still need to have the power to handle it. You might be paying with your life before getting the chance to reap the benefits."
She was telling the truth. If others knew that this coffin was truly worth a small island, many people would definitely try to rob him.
"Well…" Qianbei played the fool to avoid this question.
Li Qiye chuckled and flatly asked: "Even if I give you an island of that size, would you be able to keep it?"
Without sufficient strength, such a landmass would simply be a prize to compete for in Heaven Spirit. The old man could be robbed of it at any moment!
Qianbei solemnly answered: "Young Noble, I will try my best to guard it. If I have a piece of land, I will be able to reform my Xiong Clan. I shall treat it as my lifeblood."
After seeing his serious demeanor, Li Qiye smiled and slowly said: "You desire a piece of land? So be it, I shall give it to you!"
"Really?" Qianbei couldn't believe it. In fact, he didn't place too much hope in this request. It was simply absurd, so Li Qiye accepting the trade made him think that this was a dream.
Li Qiye replied: "My words are made of gold, what I say shall be done."
After hearing his resolute tone, Qianbei was ecstatic and quickly bowed: "Young Noble, this is giving us a new life. We shall remember your kindness for generations to come."
Li Qiye didn't care for such pleasantries and ordered: "Give me the coffin."
"Well…" Qianbei hesitated. After all, he still hadn't received the land yet, so he didn't want to hand over the wooden coffin first.
Li Qiye continued: "Don't worry, I said that I would give you a landmass, so I will when I'm done with my business."
"Young Noble Li is a man of his word." Jianshi added: "Our Sacred Spring School can guarantee you that he will give you what you want."
"My Evil Devourer School will do the same, so you can rest assured." Ruyan smiled as well.
Qianbei was glad to hear these two. They were both schoolmasters from an extremely reputable sect in Heaven Spirit. He could rest easy when these two put forth their guarantee for Li Qiye.
He hurriedly placed the coffin in front of Li Qiye and respectfully said: "Young Noble, the coffin is now yours."
Having said that, he respectfully stood to the side. Li Qiye gave him the side-eye, but Qianbei didn't react.
Liu Ruyan looked at him and teased: "What now, are you still afraid of not getting your land?"
Qianbei shamelessly stood there and smiled: "No, Schoolmaster, please don't misunderstand me. I trust the young noble and you two schoolmasters as well. Ah, everyone must be going to the Bonesea this time, correct? I also want to go broaden my horizons. If you need an errand boy or a coolie, I am ready to serve."
Li Qiye lazily looked at him and casually commented: "Such a shameless disciple has probably never appeared in the Xiong Clan until now."
"Agh…" Qianbei's face turned a bit hot, but he was too thick-skinned and continued to stand there while playing dumb.
Li Qiye ignored him and stood up. He circled around the coffin to carefully read the runes.
Ruyan curiously speculated: "What's in it? Don't tell me it is just a corpse."
"Maybe it's a treasury." Qianbei couldn't help but join in: "But how can you open it? I used all of my strength to hit it, but that didn't do anything."
"I'd like to have a try." Ruyan's competitive nature rose. She stepped forward and placed both hands on the coffin while channeling her merit law. With her blood energy rising, a loud explosion ensued. She used a mighty force to lift it, aiming to remove the lid.
One must know that with her strength, she could easily overturn a mountain. Her going all out would result in an unimaginable power that could only be described by the phrase, "hating the earth for not having a circular handle." 1
This force could tear apart the earth and rend the sky vault. However, even with her using all of her might, she couldn't remove the lid of this coffin.
"How can this be?" To Ruyan's astonishment, there wasn't the slightest sign of damage or fingerprint on it. Showboating was not in her nature, but she was quite confident in her own power.
"Just what is this coffin?" Jianshi was shocked as well. They grew up and regularly competed against each other, so Jianshi understood Ruyan's strength. Not even Godkings could stop characters of their level.
"This is beyond your comprehension." Li Qiye smiled: "In terms of forcefully opening it, not to mention the two of you, even an Immortal Emperor might not be able to do it."
This comment surprised both of the girls. What a monstrous claim! Anyone else would think that Li Qiye was just exaggerating, but they actually believed him.
"What the hell is inside?" Qianbei was completely drawn in. Even though he was the one who found the coffin, he didn't know what was inside or what was so special about it.
"We'll find out soon enough." Li Qiye chuckled and placed his palm on the coffin, then he slowly closed his eyes.
His palm remained unmoving. He didn't release a crazy amount of blood energy or unstoppable laws and dao. It was simply him touching the coffin.
As moments passed, Li Qiye seemed to be caught in a deep sleep. Everyone else held their breaths; they didn't want to break his concentration.
Even more time went on while the three remained completely quiet. Qianbei was a bit disappointed after thinking that this coffin might not be opened so easily.
However, at this very second, the runes came together to form the image of a tree of life. A majestic life force engulfed the area as if something was returning to life.
This is a peculiar phrase — hating the earth for not having a circular handle. It is describing someone with so much energy and power that if there was a handle for the earth, they could swing the earth around. The other part of this phrase is a hiltless heaven. Hiltless heaven and handleless earth — describing an overwhelming power. ↩